An Emerging Innovation Agenda: Leveraging Intrapreneur’s Influence on the Dynamic Capabilities of a Company

Abstrakt Abstract:

Purpose: The purpose of this paper was to identify and establish the relationship between intrapreneurs and the Dynamic Capabilities (DC) framework in a company. This relationship aided us in exploring whether intrapreneurs could positively influence the sensing, seizing and transforming of innovations.
Findings: This paper explored and identified a possible applicability of intrapreneurial theory and dynamic capabilities in the Innovation Value Chain. Ten intrapreneurial skills that could be carried out by an Innovation Agent (IA) in various parts of the innovation chain were identified. The results showed how these intrapreneurial skills could positively influence the dynamic capabilities and contribute to an improvement in sensing, seizing and transforming of idea in full-scale innovations. Although it was shown that intrapreneurs positively influence the sensing, seizing and transforming as separate elements of the dynamic capabilities framework, it was also discovered that intrapreneurs play a crucial role in managing the ‘dynamic capabilities’ and ‘Innovation Value Chain’ as a whole. They do this by synthesizing and connecting the separate elements. In addition, a roadmap illustrating the focus areas of these intrapreneurial skills within the innovation chain was formulated during the study.
Research Implications: The research findings contribute to the understanding the Innovation Value Chain through the lens of the Dynamic Capabilities Framework which consists of sensing, seizing and transforming and how the role of intrapreneurship could positively influence the dynamic capabilities and contribute to a better innovation process.
Practical Implications: The practical implications of this study contribute to the innovation management of big high tech global companies. The use of intrapreneurs contributes to addressing the bureaucracy and innovation barriers that big companies usually create as part of their organizational structure and culture. Although it was discovered that all employees and managers should act as intrapreneurs, the research showed that in big global companies there is a need for a separate role of Innovation Agent, who would be responsible for seeing the ‘big picture of the innovation process’, supporting and navigating the employees with innovative ideas through the complexity of innovation process, and playing diverse intrapreneurial roles in order to creatively address the barriers to innovation in the company.